1 Legal framework
1.1 What is the statutory or other source of trademark rights?
The primary statute for trademark protection is the Trade Marks Act, Cap 26:04 as amended. A trademark owner may have rights in terms of the Competition Act, Cap 14:28, which prohibits unfair business practices. Common law further protects the owner of an unregistered mark against passing off by another.
1.2 How do trademark rights arise (ie, through use or registration)?
Both. Zimbabwe follows the first to use doctrine. Therefore, if the owner of an unregistered mark has used that mark prior to filing of an application or registration by an applicant, that owner may file an opposition based on prior use once the application for registration of the mark is published in the Zimbabwe Patent and Trade Mark Journal. This action may be sustained only if the application for registration is not a familiar foreign mark (well-known mark); the latter does not need prior use or registration in order to be
